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August 15, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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BSES renames COS BSES today announced the new names of its two distribution companies – the South-West Delhi Electricity Distribution Company has been renamed as BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and the Central-East Delhi Electricity Distribution Company Ltd as BSES Yamuna Power Limited. The CEO of the distribution companies, Mr J P Chalasani, said 50 additional boxes have been placed for easy collection of electricity bill payment through cheque. This billing system is being steadily streamlined to reduce errors and this process will be completed by December 2002. For additional customer convenience, BSES is also tying up with banks having a large number of branches to facilitate easy payment of electricity bills. For enhanced customer satisfaction, BSES has centralised a 24-hour customer care call centre with 24 executives for each distribution company. TNS
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Ram Lila order withdrawn New Delhi, August 14 The Municipal Commissioner has agreed to allow the Ram Lila Committee to stage Ram Lila in a part of the Parade Ground, which has not been developed into a park yet. The developed area will, however, not be used for Ram Lila or for any other purpose. (It will be recalled that the MCD had earlier taken the stand that it was committed to developing the grassy lawns in front of the fort and, therefore, the ground should not be allotted to anyone). The decision to revoke the order was taken in the Standing Committee meeting today when a resolution was moved by a Congress member, Brij Mohan Sharma. In the resolution, he said that the Parade Ground Ram Lila is a grand annual spectacle and one of the finest cultural shows of the Capital. Therefore, it should not be moved from its traditional venue. The proposal was seconded by other members. The Red Fort Ram Lila was banned following the intervention of the Minister of State in PMO, Mr Vijay Goel, who wanted to develop the area into a grassy turf. For this purpose, the land has been allotted to the Archaeological Survey of India. The decision was taken after several meetings, which were attended by Mr Goel. Taking strong exception to the MCD’s order, former Congress MP from Chandni Chowk, Jai Prakash Aggarwal, yesterday accused the Muncipal Commissioner Rakesh Mehta of issuing the directive at the behest of Mr Goel. It was further alleged that Mr Goel was “misusing the PMO to scuttle one of the most secular events of the country.’’ In its ban order, the Municipal Commission had said that there will be only one exception to its order, that is, the ‘Perfect Health Mela’ for which the old site of Gandhi Mela may be allotted. All other performances should be held in Subhash Maidan, but not on the lawns opposite the Red Fort. |
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Load-shedding may be a thing of the Panipat, August 14 The other projects of the Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGC), which are in different stages of completion, are a 500 MW thermal plant at Yamuna Nagar, a 500 MW plant at Hisar, a 360 MW oil-based power plant in Panipat and a 432 MW gas-based plant at Faridabad. These projects will go a long way in making the state a pioneer in power generation. This was revealed by HGPC officials at the power station here today. Conducting a tour of the sites, Mr NN Vaid, Director of the HPGC, told journalists that the two 250 MW units had been included in the firm capacity addition programme of the Ministry of Power for the 10th Plan. Keeping in view the infrastructure available at the local station, the work of setting up the units had been awarded to BHEL on a turnkey basis with a schedule of 31 months and 35 months for units 1 and 2, respectively. While the 7th unit would be commissioned in October 2004, the 8th is slated to be commissioned in February 2005. Of the total cost of Rs 1,785 crore, the state government would contribute Rs 357 crore by way of equity. The balance (Rs 1,428 crore) would be financed by the Power Finance Corporation. Mr IK Kohli, Chief Engineer, Thermal Design, who played a major role in designing the project, told journalists that the station had a sprawling area of 1,989 acres of which the generating station was spread over an area of 656 acres. |
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Young girl stabbed to death at home Ghaziabad, August 14 Mrs Angoori Devi, a teacher in a primary school in Delhi, had just left the house along with her elder daughter, Sangeeta, and her two sons Raju and Deepak. The other daughter, Rekha, 18, was alone at home. Rekha was a class XII student in Nanad Nagri Higher Secondary School. The assailants reportedly entered the house near Hapur Road trijunction at about 11.30 am, according to the neighbours, and left just in a few minutes. When Rekha’s younger brother Raju returned from the maternal uncle’s house nearby at 12.30 pm, he was shocked to see the victim lying in a pool of blood and the TV set had been put at full blast apparently by the assailants so that Rekha’s shrieks could be drowned in the sound. Informed by the neighbours, SP city Umesh Srivastava along with a police force from Kotwali station reached the spot but by that time the victim had succumbed to her injuries. Mr Umesh Srivastava said that the police have lifted some fingerprints and some other clues will enable them to work out the crime soon. Though the elder brother Deepak said that they did not have any enmity with anybody, some residents in the neighbourhood said that youngsters known to Deepak had been seen visiting Angoori Devi’s house every now and then. Meanwhile, the police in Noida and Ghaziabad have mounted maximum security on the borders in view of the maximum alert and security arrangements in the national capital for tomorrow’s Independence Day celebrations in Delhi. According to the SP city, Ghaziabad, Mr Umesh Srivastava, and SSP Noida Rajeev Krishen, all individuals and vehicles will be thoroughly checked at all points with Delhi border.
Notorious criminal shot near Modinagar The police today claimed to have shot dead a dreaded criminal belonging to the notorious Vijay Farhan gang after a brief encounter near Modinagar here. According to Chandra Pal, SSP Ghaziabad, the alleged gangster Pitambar, was spotted riding on the pillion of a motorbike along with his accomplice last night. When challenged by the police at a picket, the suspects fired at the police party and ran away after abandoning the vehicle. The police party, which included a Delhi Police team, chased the suspects on the main GT Road and shot Pitambar dead. His accomplice, however, managed to escape. |
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Nitish snubs Delhi on Metro New Delhi, August 14 “Metro Railway project is for the common good of Delhi. This prestigious project will not only make Delhi but the entire country proud. It should be kept above politics. All decisions regarding the project are expeditiously taken by the GoM in which the Delhi Chief Minister is also a member,” Mr Kumar said while reacting to the Delhi Government’s recent decision to set up a committee headed by Delhi Transport Minister Ajay Maken to demand more control over Metro operations in the Capital. Talking to reporters after inspecting the progress of Metro Railway projects at various points, Mr Kumar said a seven-member empowered group at the Centre, which includes the Finance Minister, the Railway Minister, the Urban Development Minister, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, the Delhi Lt-Governor and the Chief Minister, already exists to take decisions regarding Metro Railway. Expressing satisfaction over the progress of the project, Mr Kumar said that the world-class advanced Metro system after its completion would not only remove a major transport problem being faced by the Capital, but also become a popular tourist attraction. |
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FARIDABAD Faridabad, August 14 According to DHBVN records, the Nigam is still to recover over Rs 64 crore as bills in the district. While there are over 29,000 individual defaulters, there are a large number of government departments which owe bills worth several crores of rupees. Among the government departments, the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) is the biggest defaulter at present. The MCF still needs to pay over Rs 15 crore despite paying Rs 1.45 crore recently to the DHBVN. It is reported that the payment was done after the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, intervened in the matter and directed the MCF authorities during a recent meeting that it should clear its dues towards the power department. But it is learnt that the fund-starved MCF is finding it difficult to clear the dues still pegged around Rs 15.48 crore. The Public Health Department here is another defaulter which is still to pay Rs 13.31 crore as power bills. Besides it, the Indian Railways owe Rs 2.46 crore, irrigation Rs 58.65 lakh and recently closed Minor Irrigation Tubewell Corporation (MITC) has also failed to clear bills worth Rs 3.29 lakh. There are many other offices of the state government, including tourism which owe amount ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh. When asked about the list of other prominent defaulters, the Superintending Engineer (Operations) of DHBVN here, Ms Chanda Saini, said that her office had not got the details at present. She said that the details are gathered from field offices when asked by the senior authorities. It is also learnt that about 118 cases were pending in the courts and as a result, a bill of about Rs 33 crore had been held up. According to the information, this has been mainly due to wrong reading and billing and many consumers were forced to seek legal help after they failed to get their grievances redressed at DHBVN offices. A resident of Sector-7 here said that one of his relatives had to move the court after the Nigam officials handed over a bill which was more than 40 times, he was required to pay otherwise. The DHBVN offices are charged with ‘rampant corruption’ and harassment and this has been evident at the ‘open darbar’ of the Deputy Commissioner and the monthly meeting of the District Grievances Committee. In one of the cases, the Chief Minister had ordered suspension of an SDO of the power department last month on corruption charges. The DHBVN has also failed to devise a proper method of handling day to day complaints and charges of corruption and inefficiency against its staff, said Mr Krishan Lal, a resident of Sector-15A. Complaints in this regard are taken up with the Deputy Commissioner or even at a higher level by the consumers, he said. About recovery, Ms Chanda Saini claimed that the notices had been to the department concerned and the action had been initiated in some of the cases. She said that the power supply at Bhadkhal tourists complex was cut off about a month ago when it failed to clear off its dues despite reminders. She said that the supply was started after some payment had been made. The department had been able to recover about Rs 3.55 crore as pending bills during the special 75 per cent bills waive-off scheme launched in May-June last, but added that a sum of over Rs 32 crore was still pending with about 28,000 consumers, mostly in rural areas. |
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ROHTAK Rohtak, August 14 Mr Resham Singh convened a meeting of district police chiefs, DSPs, Inspectors and all SHOs of the range here on Monday to review the security arrangements and chalk out a strategy to maintain peace on Independence Day. Almost the entire Rohtak Range, except Karnal district, forms part of the National Capital Region. Jhajjar and Sonepat districts share their border with the national Capital. The Inspector-General of Police said the SHOs in the range had been directed to verify the antecedents of the tenants and occupants of newly constructed houses within their respective jurisdiction. The police have also been advised to check serais and hotels and possible hideouts of the terrorists. Special instructions have been given to the police to strictly verify the antecedents of persons visiting the dhabas on the national highway during odd hours. Mr Resham Singh said the SHOs had been told to keep an eye on the activities of anti-social elements and criminals. Such persons, if found indulging in any unlawful activity, should be dealt with sternly, the SHOs have been told. He said police patrolling had been intensified not only on the roads leading to Delhi but also on the roads leading towards the venue of Independence Day functions at every district headquarter town and sub-divisional cities. The police have been advised to put up nakas on the roads leading to the venue of the function and thoroughly check every person and vehicle headed there. |
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Model Town residents feel private players are giving them a raw deal New Delhi, August 14 Ms Kanta Gupta, a housewife living in the area said, “There is no electricity in our house and I do not know whom to talk to and register our complaint. We are simply stuck.” Moreover, the continuous rain in the last 24 hours has only aggravated the problem. The flooded roads, without streetlights, have become dangerous for the pedestrians. Anuj Singhal, a school student residing in the area added, “I am a student of class XII and have been unable to study as there is no electricity in the area. My clothes are unpressed and I had to even miss my school today.” The residents are particularly upset with the lack of information regarding the problem. A senior resident of the area, Mr Rishi Narang said, “We do not know whether this is a result of the tussle between the DVB and the private agency or due to the havoc caused by the rain. However, the fact of the matter remains that the power shortage in the area has adversely affected us. Since morning, we have been continuously calling the office of the Tata Power but no one has picked up the phone. We do not know whether the phone lines are dead or the workers are deliberately not picking up the phone.” Effectively then, privatisation of power distribution has hardly improved things for the residents of the area. Rather, it has created more confusion, pain and darkness all-around. |
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Café extends aid to 55 deprived kids New Delhi, August 14 Protest held Members of the All-Kashmiri Youth Front on Wednesday staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in the Capital against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. The organisation observed the day as black day and condemned the attitude of the Centre and the state government towards the community, especially those living in squalid conditions in camps. |
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NCR BRIEFS New Delhi, August 14 Visit to hospital Faridabad Members of the Brahman Uthan Samiti here distributed fruit among patients in the Bhadshah Khan Civil Hospital here on Tuesday. He said the team members also visited a colony of leprosy patients.
Blood donated As many as 52 employees of a private company donated blood at a special camp organised here on Wednesday with the help of the District Red Cross Society. According to the society, employees of Denso Faridabad Private Limited donated 52 units at the camp.
Minor elopes Jhajjar
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Medals
for 10 Delhi Police officers New Delhi, August 14 U.K. Katna, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) and Inspector Ranbir Singh, SHO, Jama Masjid, have been awarded the President’s Police Medal this year. Those who have been awarded the Police Medal this year are: R.S. Ghumman, Deputy Commissioner of Police, P.S. Bhushan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Harmeet Singh Hira, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Inspector Surender Singh Sandhu, Inspector Anup Singh Mann and Inspector Om Prakash Yadav. |
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Jawan’s body found
New Delhi, August 14
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Auto thieves fall in police net, 200 cases solved New Delhi, August 14 During interrogation, Anil revealed to the police that two of his accomplices, Pawan and Naseer, were moving in a stolen Santro car in the Saket area. The duo were nabbed by the police. The gang members confessed to the police that they had stolen more than 200 vehicles from South and South-West districts. Mostly, the cars which were stolen were sent to Nepal, Rampur, Bareilly, Meerut and Gujarat. Special teams have been sent to Moradabad, Meerut, Bareilly, Rampur and Gujurat to recover the vehicles and nab the other members of the gang. Criminals held:
The team, acting on secret information that the accused would come near Bharti College, Janak Puri, spotted the duo on a green-coloured Hero Honda motor cycle and nabbed them. On sustained interrogation, Pawan disclosed that he was an active member of the Vikas-Vikram gang, which was involved in more than 15 robberies in Delhi. He also committed a robbery of Rs 5 lakh near R.K. Puram in 2001, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Deepandra Pathak. Thief nabbed:
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